Auction 186-190

Levant. 1853: Napoleon imperf. 10 c. bistre, shaved at left, 20 c. blue, 40 c. orange, and 80 c. carmine, cut in at top, otherwise broad to ample margins all round, the 40 c. with some wrinkles and fold, tied by two strikes of dotted anchor postmark in blue to triple weight outer letter sheet from Constantinople to Lyon with "Neva 24 Juin 61" ship cds in blue and framed "Paquebots de la Méditerranée" in red alongside as well as Marseilles transit and Lyon arrival cds's (July 31, 1861) on reverse. An appealing four colour cover.